Bubble tea with brown sugar pearls
Milk tea with tapioca pearls
Taiwanese milk tea with chewy tapioca pearls in dark sugar syrup
Pearl milk tea (zhen zhu nai cha) was born in Taichung, Taiwan, in the 1980s and has since spread to tea shops in every Chinese city. Strong black tea is shaken with milk and ice over dark, chewy tapioca pearls soaked in brown sugar syrup. Store-bought quick-cook pearls make it easy at home; kids love the big straws. Chef's tip: cook the pearls right before serving; after a couple of hours they go hard, and they can't be revived in the fridge.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
For the pearls
- ¼ cup water
For the tea
- 2 tbsp strong black tea leaves (Assam or Ceylon)or 4 tea bags
- 1 ½ cups boiling water
- 1 cup whole milkor oat milk
- 10 ice cubes
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Steep 2 tbsp strong black tea leaves (Assam or Ceylon) in 1 ½ cups boiling water for 5 minutes until very strong, then strain and cool. It should taste too strong on its own; milk and ice dilute it.
5 minStep 2: Bring a pan of water to a rolling boil, add 2 ⅞ oz quick-cook black tapioca pearls and cook according to the packet (usually 5–8 minutes), until there's no white core when you cut one. Common mistake: adding pearls before the water is boiling; they dissolve on the outside and stick together.
10 minStep 3: Meanwhile simmer 2 ⅛ oz dark muscovado or brown sugar and ¼ cup water for 2–3 minutes until syrupy. Drain the pearls and stir them into the syrup; leave for 5 minutes so they soak it up.
5 minStep 4: Spoon the pearls and syrup into two tall glasses, tilting each so the syrup streaks down the sides. Add 10 ice cubes.
Step 5: Shake or whisk the cooled tea with 1 cup whole milk and pour over. Serve with wide straws and stir before drinking.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 310 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 60 g
- Fat
- 5 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bubble tea with brown sugar pearls take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of dark muscovado or brown sugar?
- White sugar + 1 tbsp molasses or treacle per 200g.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
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